There is a burger with peanut butter on the menu. Peanut. Butter. Let me just leave you with that for a minute…
…yeah, peanut butter.
Needless to say, Paper Plane Café in Parramatta made a seriously good first impression on this peanut butter-obsessed foodie.
Located on Horwood Place, just off the main drag of George Street, Paper Plane Café is an open space (thank you bi-folding doors) with a relaxed vibe. There’s a touch of cool too—on trend with mismatched furniture and industrial hints—but the fit out hasn’t quite reached hipster-level cool. This may be intentional and is neither a good nor a bad thing. I just want good coffee.
Speaking of coffee, our order was swiftly taken (one espresso and one soy flat white please and thank you) and we turned or attention to the menu.
Starring triple smoked ham, pulled pork, Swiss cheese and white barbecue sauce, the midnight Cuban was the first item to catch my eye and was quickly placed on my shortlist. Then the blue cheese steak sandwich pled its case—sliced beef steak, blue cheese, barbecue sauce, sautéed Portobello mushrooms, bacon and caramelised onions. Righto. Short-listed.
But then I spotted it. The Paper Plane burger. A beef patty with bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and PEANUT BUTTER on a brioche bun.
“Right. Well, obviously I have to get that,” I declared to no one in particular.
Get it, I did. And it was gooooood.
The beef was juicy, the cheese was gooey and the peanut butter gave me the very same thrill is does each day when I eat it with a teaspoon tablespoon while no one is looking.
If you don’t like peanut butter, you don’t need me to tell you this burger isn’t for you. If you like but don’t ‘like like’ peanut butter, this is a seriously tasty burger although there’s a chance the PB will control the mouthful, as my date found. For the rest of us, #winning.
Yeah, okay, fine. I will stop talking about peanut butter. My eating companion gave the midnight Cuban a big thumbs up. And by “big thumbs up” I mean he wouldn’t talk to me for the duration of the meal except to say, through oversized mouthfuls, “oh my god, this is sooooo good”. He gave me a bite. I concurred.
His sambo came with a side of ‘bad boys’ (that’s code for seriously tasty thick-cut chips) while mine came with French fries.
Now, herein lies the problem with my food reviews: I am but one small person. I love food but, even though I would dearly love to, I can’t eat all the things. Don’t worry though because, since I love you guys, I went back to Paper Plane for breakfast so I could give you a little extra insight. You’re welcome.
There’s no peanut butter on Paper Plane’s breakfast menu but there is French toast with French vanilla custard, crushed pistachio, mixed berries, cinnamon and icing sugar so I got by.
It’s been a while since I’ve ordered bressert. For no apparent reason I lost my uncontrollable desire for dessert-like breakfasts a few years ago. Paper Plane lured me right back. I’m okay with it.
Choosing a decidedly healthier option, my plus-one ordered the ‘hello sunshine’, a platter comprising muesli, yogurt, fruit salad, a toasted croissant, scrambled eggs, triple smoked ham and Swiss cheese. It was a seriously impressive array and for $18.50, great value too.
Of course, there was coffee, and since I didn’t mention it in any detail at the beginning of the review, I will do so now.
Paper Plane Café serves up blends from Numero Uno Artisan Coffee Roasters which earns them a tick in my book. In my short experience with Paper Plane, the milk has rendered the coffee hit and miss with a little too much froth atop my flat white the first time around. The second attempt was much better and suitably savoured.
There will definitely be a third attempt.
Keen for your first attempt? Check them out in the Directory.
Image credit: Daryl Kong
